Missing Aunt Mimi

June 25, 2009

(photo by The Wife)My sister Pamela is one of those rare people who seem to radiate light. She is hopeful without being hokey, and generous to a fault (though not above complaining about stuff that bothers her). Not afraid to tell you what she thinks, she is still somehow polite and deferential– if you want access to her vast wisdom, you need to ask good questions and listen very carefully to her thoughtful responses. During her two-week visit, she was game enough to join us on an epic road trip to Chattanooga, where she fit right in with people she barely knows, and made some real friends in the process. Pam’s light is evident wherever she goes.

So I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that our house is darker at her absence. We open the shades a bit more, but it’s not quite the same. We’re all moving through our day, trying to distract ourselves from facing the reality that unavoidably comes up at bedtime: We are sad, because Mimi is gone.